From the days when the harmony-loving Sioux Nation roamed the northern plains and Lewis and Clark ventured here via the Missouri River, South Dakota has been a land of outdoor adventure and beauty. In fact, one of the country's much-loved writers, Laura Ingalls Wilder, settled here as a child with her family in the late 19th century, and South Dakota became the setting of five of her famous young adult novels. Although venturing out into unknown lands took great leaps of bravery, you can see why the state's verdant lands were an attractive place to dig in, with lush forests and rolling prairies and rivers. As with many frontier states, though, South Dakota's history had its own sad bout of progress clashing with the public good. When gold was discovered in the Black Hills in the 1870s, the push of white settlers overwhelmed the native Sioux tribes, who would not allow mining rights on their land for prospectors. This resulted in the bloody battle of Wounded Knee in 1890. During this struggle, 500 U.S. troops surrounded the Lakota tribe keeping a stronghold on the ore-rich area. After the dust settled, two dozen soldiers and 153 Sioux, including many women and children, lay dead. Today, the site bears a stone monument marking this tragic piece of American history. Knowing how easy it is to lose their culture in the dust, the Sioux Nation has kept its traditional celebrations alive; and visitors can attend powwows, visit museums proudly displaying tribal arts, and see history markers across the country.
